Poured a dark brown in the dim lit bar lights. The nose was quite malted & milk chocolate to which my friend, Nick exclaimed, "Smells like Whoppers"! but as it warmed raisins & pitted-fruit took a stronghold.

The taste also changed as it warmed; the initial dusty chocolate slowly morphed into a dry peaty-smokiness before settling into a molasses meets tannic-bark-like flavor reminiscent of a Cabernet about to go bad (but it really worked for awhile).

Pushing 7 years old (2004), this beer needed another good 45 minutes exposed to oxygen before becoming something worthy of that much aging. Although I enjoyed discussing this beer in relationship to Scandinavian cuisine and dreaming of foraging for my dinner in some remote Icelandic forest; back in the real world I found the middle taste most enjoyable and by the last few sips I was completely over this beer.

I would like to try both a younger & older version before settling on my verdict.

Is this beer hyped? Yes, and no. Once upon a time until quite recent, maybe like until 10 years ago this might have been a world class porter. But since Carlsberg took over this has become a suprisingly thin, almost dark lager-ish-like porter. But here we go;

Looks quite nice, the bottle is lovely. But the beer poured up looks quite average. A thin black/brown colour, almost coca cola-like. The foam is white/grey-ish and dissapears very fast and makes a decent ring of foam.

The aroma might be one of the best things with this one. Full on rosted malts and sweet notes of coffee. Some hints of caramell and dark chocolate aswell. Quite nice actually.

The taste then? To start with the beer is a bit too thin for a porter. But there are lots of sweet malt notes and slight hints of coffee and chocolate. But there is a taste that reminds me slightly of cheap euro lager.

This is a fine porter, but it has been a great porter, but not anymore.

A- Very dark, but clearly not opaque, as some light does get through. A decent head forms upon pouring and dissipates at a moderate pace.

S- Dark fruits and minerals seem to be the hallmark flavors of authentic Baltic Porters, and this beer has both of them. A fig-like fruitiness is backed by a minerally, almost metallic aroma. Some sweet chocolate gives it some depth.

T- More emphasis on the malts here, with some raisiny fruit, chocolate syrup, and coffee. Hops lend a decent bitterness to the finish.

D- The alcohol isn't very high at all, but it seems like it should be higher due to the beer's full body and richness. I'd probably stop after one of these.

Another solid Baltic Porter from Sweden, not Eastern Europe as I had previously assumed. There's nothing that really stands out about this beer, but it's nice and flavorful. Also, when considering that it's only 5.5% alcohol, the amount of flavor is quite impressive. Recommended for fans of the style.

12oz. bottle served in a can glass. Best before 30 October 15 printed on the back label. Pours the color and clarity of cola with a loose, 1/8th inch, khaki-colored head the quickly disperses into an oily slick and a thin tight band around the shoulders. Nose is slightly vinous, but I also get dark fruits and carob. Taste consistent with nose - fairly dull and subdued with a slight, wet cardboard presence. Mouthfeel is light in body with a mild, even carbonation. All and all, decent but perhaps past its prime. I'll have to try to procure a fresher bottle and update my notes. Not recommended for extended cellaring.

O - I had hoped to like this more, but it was only slightly above average. Maybe I'll give it a chance again in the future. After a long, tough day, it could be my palate is messed up. Others seem to like it more, so it's worth a try. Not bad, just not that great. (And I love the Swedes.)

Picked up a 1997 bottle from Archer's Ale House in Bellingham. The beer was black as black with minimal head. The nose was winy and old fruity. The taste was aged and vinous with the burnt malts in the background. I felt that this bottle was maybe too old as the midbody seemed slightly hollow. I know that this beer can be cellared eventhough it is only 5.5% but I feel the low abv may have let some of the bigger flavours dissipate. I enjoyed this beer but wanted a bigger set of flavours.

The taste is very mellow. Chocolate is the dominant flavor, but there isn't much body to this beer. The lack of carbonation and fading of any hops over time leave this brew with zero bite and a rather weak mouthfeel.

I had the 2004 version.
It pours an extremely dark red until it settles into an inky black with red edges when held to the light. It has a tan head closer to white than brown. The consistency of the head was fantastic. It smelled malty sweet with not too many hop characteristics that I could gather. Overall, the aroma was pleasant but not outstanding. This beer is balanced towards the sweet side in terms of flavor. Obviously the hops are not that evident but I wished there was something else there to counteract the very sweet malty tones it was giving me. This was a very creamy beer and it sat very well on the side of my tongue as I swished it around. It left a fairly clean taste that I was very pleased with. I probably will not pick this beer up again. However, I know a couple people that would love this stuff so I have to skew drinkablity up.

Poured into a pint glass this brew is a deep dark brown with a milk chocolate 2 finger head that settles into a nice 1/2 finger head. The aroma is nice of chocolate, sweet brown sugar and some slight roasted malts. The taste is a little grainy strong on the sweeter malts. Not too much of a hop presence to balance things. A little roasted malt, but not enough dark roast flavor. Medium body with lighter carbonation. A decent brew but not a top tier porter.

T - Not super complex but a damn-well balanced porter. Not as thick as I'd have thought it to be. Super easy drinking. Sad that the hops are not coming through at all (maybe at the end). The larger the sip the tastier. Something in the beginning of the aftertaste that I don't like... maybe a salty/breadiness, but otherwise it's really good.

O - Really nice porter. For what it was supposed to be it did quite well.

Sweet chocolate aroma with buttery caramel...the smell is rich, full and inviting. There is a presense of alcohol, but it doesn't detract.

This is a very sweet porter. The hop comes across strictly as a spice. The malt sugars are present thoughout the tasting, even in the aftertaste. The high level of sugars make for a thick consistency. The carbonation is equally high providing a slight contrast to the sweetness.

This is a little too sweet for my taste, even though I can appreciate the complexity of the beer.

Gobbled this at Barney's Beanery in west hollywood, former stomping grounds of Janis Joplin and Mr Jim Morrison. Poured a dark brown without much sunlight able to penetrate this pup. lots of burnt type tones to it. Extremely smooth to the point of being watery. Coffee was evident but not prominent. Finished with some hops but not overly dry.

Overall I thought it was ok but for the price it was not a beer I'll pursue. I'll pay for a great brew but for an OK brew no.

Edit Feb 2006: Bottled 2004 version. Still not one I'd seek out but if this was the offering at my hotel in Ibiza I'd gobble it up and love it. As it stands, LA has enough options to where this brew is a passer by.

Edit Feb 2007: Had another bottle of the 2004 and I stand by my original scores. Its just OK fresh or with age. A bit of a cola feel starts to creep in as it gets older and not a bad thing really as this needs a bit more depth.

Carnegie Porter looks like a liquid raspberry truffle: it's a melted chocolate brown colour for the most part but has remnants of ruby throughout. All the colour is concealed within its dark exterior and only illuminated when held right up against the light. Its head is scattered but manages to coat most of the surface and some parts of the glass.

Truthfully, there isn't much to distinguish Carnegie Porter. The aroma has only entry-level amounts of chocolate and roasted malt, not really enough even to emulate coffee or licorice flavours. There's traces of dark fruits - whether the influence of malt, yeast, or alcohol who knows - but they, too, make only a minimal contribution.

Those unaccustomed to dark beers will find this surprisingly, pleasantly easy to drink; those expecting a true Scandinavian Baltic Porter will be entirely disappointed. This has neither an especially roasted nor hopped presence, with virtually no coffee, chocolate, caramel, toffee, nutty, or molasses complexity and only the most brief taste of dark fruits. Boring.

The label on the back states that "storage helps the flavour mature and helps enhance its harmony"; there's no production or best before date on this bottle but I doubt it's all that fresh. Already the beer tastes oxidized and considerably thinned out. Given this thin a malt bill - and especially at a mild 5.5% - I'd ignore the brewery's recommendations and drink it now.

Carnegie Porter is a dark beer likely to appeal to those most afraid of them; I should have expected such a watered-down product from Carlsberg. There's nothing bold or intimating about this supposed Baltic Porter - it's as much a caricature as the Swedish chef from the Muppets. Scandinavians do much bolder (and better) than this. Don't waste your time on it.

Black as night, with a thick head of tan foam. Thin but attractive lace.

Nose says caramel and toffee.

Tasting reveals a really sweet porter. I get more toffee, caramel, and a little chocolate. Maybe this bottle was stored too long (or in improper conditions), but the bottle says best by 2016! Nonetheless, it seems something's off here.

Anyhow, I can envision a fresher bottle being a fine session porter, but this bottle didn't cut it.

A - Clarity is hard to come by in this black beer, but when held to the light, ruby mahogany shines through. The loose, soapy head disappears to clusters of spore-like bubbles sporadically dotted around the surface of the beer and on the glass.

S - Burnt cheap coffee, burnt toast, and oak give the aroma a charred, metallic scent that finally opens up as it warms up, allowing some dark fruit and fig nuances and a touch of mocha in on the finish.

Aroma is dark malts, toffee and, annoying, cola. The flavor is dark malts, toffee/caramel, the same annoying slight cola, mild chocolate and an acidic/slightly sweet finish. Definitely could've done without the cola, although it did fade thankfully.

The body is very dark reddish-brown with a head that starts to fizz but stops before dissipating, which it does, eventually. The aroma is light, mostly a bit of chocolate. The flavor is vinuous, a bit of raisin and chocolate followed by a faint bit of char.

The pour is brown in color with a small tan head. Some roast malt, dark fruit, and a hint of coffee come through first on the nose. A bit dusty and oxidized. Quite a lot of dark fruit, especially prunes. The flavor is fairly simple. Some roasted malt, chocolate, and tons of dark fruit.

I must say, I'm a little let down by this one. I had such high expectations for it, and I just don't think it delivered. It was quite tasy and smelled okay; it just wasn't the big, black, chocolate pudding beer I thought it was going to be. It poured a dark reddish brown colour through which light could pass. It had a sandy coloured foamy head that stayed around for ages and left thick lacing clinging to the sides of the glass. This was quite nice, but I would have liked it better were it darker still. The smell was roasted malts with a bit of a bitter coffee bean under tone, and a really faint chocolate aroma hidden deep down. I expected so much more in the smell. I expected the roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate, but at much higher levels. There was also a bit of a soured smell present here, as well, such as something you might expect to find with a lambic. Not as strong of course, but there, faintly, nevertheless. The taste was sweet roasted malts and a touch of caramel. Not the unmanageable semi-sweet chocolate and punch in the face coffee bean bitterness I was so hoping for. Mouthfeel was a bit thin, both for what I was expecting, and the style as a whole, I thought. Overall, this was a good porter. Not a fantastic porter, simply a good one. I was simply expecting so much more from this one, only to be dissappointed a bit. 3.5's across the board.